A hypothetical: 

You’re a year into your job, you are known to successfully meet and exceed expectations, and your team is consistently completing projects ahead of schedule. And yet, you always feel like you’re behind on something. You’re clocking out late most days and your inbox is fuller than your coffee cup from the moment you sit down at your desk every morning. It’s, in a word, exhausting. 

But why? What’s happening? 

Well—You’ve been given an invisible promotion. 

Unfortunately, congrats are not necessarily in order. An invisible promotion is generally not a good thing, and they tend to result in more work for less pay. While there’s a chance some workers can use their invisible promotion as a career advancement springboard to achieve a true promotion, that’s not always the case. For others, these unrecognized and unexpected job responsibilities impede their professional growth and lead to workplace burnout. 

Because of these very real downsides to invisible promotions, it’s important for workers to know whether or not they’ve been on the receiving end of one. Let’s take a closer look at what exactly an invisible promotion entails and whether or not you should continue putting up with it. 

(Hint: Typically, the answer is no. Your hard work deserves to be recognized — verbally and financially. But more on that later.) 

What is an Invisible Promotion? 

The simplest definition for the term ‘invisible promotion’ is added job responsibilities that were not agreed upon beforehand and which do not come with a better title or higher salary. It’s a situation in which an employee is expected to take on many tasks that are outside the scope of their original job description without additional compensation. 

Another trendy term for this phenomena is ‘quiet hiring’, which is a foil of sorts to the idea of ‘quiet quitting’. Whereas the latter involves employees slowly and ‘quietly’ putting in less effort at work, the former is used to describe when employers assign more work to their existing employees instead of hiring new people. 

But how do you differentiate between an invisible promotion and a reasonable request to take on a little more responsibility every now and then? We’ll be the first to admit that it isn’t always straightforward. As workplace advice columnist, Alison Green, states, it’s “true that someone who refuses to do anything beyond the specific scope of their job description is going against professional norms and risks coming across as difficult or even unpleasant to work with.” 

Be that as it may, it’s imperative that workers who feel taken advantage are encouraged to speak up and demand everything from more recognition/workplace visibility to a raise.

Have I been invisibly promoted? 

This is the question we’re here to answer, but according to our research, the best way to figure out whether or not you’ve been given an invisible promotion actually involves asking yourself even more questions. So, if you feel overworked, underappreciated, or just want to make sure that your career advancement remains the primary focus of both you and your employers, then read on. 

Questions to ask yourself…

1. In what ways has my position expanded in the last six to twelve months, and does this expansion mostly fit within the scope of my current title? 

2. How do the number and nature of my current job responsibilities compare to others in similar positions/others receiving similar pay?

3. If I was looking for a new job and saw a description outlining my current job responsibilities and salary, would I apply for it? 

4. What new and previously unnecessary skills/expertise have I developed over the last six-twelve months in order to be successful in my job now?

Should I keep my invisible promotion? 

In general, you should not be doing more work than you are being compensated for — even in the name of potential professional growth. That’s why we have one last question for you. 

Do you feel like you’re being exploited at work?

If the answer is no, then perhaps you should continue to meet all the new expectations in hopes that it will lead to future recognition and a real promotion. If the answer is yes, however, then you should be very wary of the negative outcomes of being overworked. 

In recent years, there has been much talk of workplace stress and burnout, specifically how even workers who have not been handed an invisible promotion struggle with work-life balance. We know that workplace visibility is vital for employees to thrive, and research shows that “37% of employees reported never receiving recognition from their employer, leading to decreased motivation.” 

Similarly, it’s reasonable to assume that being forced to adopt unanticipated job responsibilities will lead to unpaid labor. One study found that 45% of workers already feel they have to work more hours per week than they want to. Those extra hours can have a serious effect on your health. “People working 55 or more hours each week face an estimated 35% higher risk of a stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease, compared to people following the widely accepted standard of working 35 to 40 hours in a week.” (Bill Chappell, NPR)

Leaving your invisible promotion behind…   

To once again quote Alison Green, “you should be able to say that you don’t want to take on additional responsibilities unless you’re paid appropriately for them, particularly when those responsibilities are clearly part of a higher-level, higher-paid job.”

That said, we know these conversations aren’t easy to have, and they don’t always go the way employees hope they will. The thing is though—you shouldn’t have to fight for proper recognition. Employers shouldn’t be forcing unpaid work onto you under the guise of professional growth or career advancement. That’s exploitation and those are intangible, often immeasurable promises, unlike more concrete benefits like changes to salary or titles. 

We think you deserve better. Better pay, more workplace visibility, and the chance to show your worth without being overworked. If you agree, then let our expert recruiters at CyberCoders match you with a position in which you can really thrive.